Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today participated in day four of the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett and gave his final statement detailing the historical precedent of election-year judicial nominations and confirmations. Sen. Cruz’s full remarks on the final day of the Judiciary Committee hearing may be viewed here.
WATCH: Why Judge Barrett’s Confirmation is Consistent With Over 200 Years of Precedent
On the historical precedent for confirming Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Sen. Cruz said:
“I think it is important for the record to reflect that moving forward on this nomination is consistent with two centuries of precedent and tradition in the Senate,” [...] “The scenario of a Supreme Court vacancy occurring during a presidential election year is not a new thing. It has occurred 29 times in our country's history. Presidents have made nominations all 29 times. The precedent is unequivocal and uniform. When a vacancy occurs in a presidential election year, the president makes a nomination — that includes Republicans that includes Democrats.”
Sen. Cruz this morning also joined ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss Judge Barrett’s appearance before the Judiciary Committee over the previous three days. Discussing the second day of Judge Barrett’s testimony and the ongoing Democrat discussion to pack the court, Sen. Cruz said:
“They tried to throw some rocks at Judge Barrett. I will say, the big news out of yesterday is that the Democrats surrendered, that they've given up. By midday, they were all gone. The hearing room was empty. There were two Democrats in the entire hearing room.
“It was interesting, this week we saw the Democrats trying to redefine what court packing means, and it was a very concerted effort. They're talking points — they've got a lot of message discipline — that what they're trying to say is, ‘well, you know, Republicans have been packing the court for four years.’ No, that's not actually what court packing means. Court packing does not mean nominating a justice to fill a vacancy. [...] It is expanding the number of justices. [...] And, you know, Joe Biden in 1983 said court-packing was ‘a bone headed idea,’ and now that bone headed idea I think is their agenda number one if they win on Election Day.”
“It was interesting, this week we saw the Democrats trying to redefine what court packing means, and it was a very concerted effort. They're talking points — they've got a lot of message discipline — that what they're trying to say is, ‘well, you know, Republicans have been packing the court for four years.’ No, that's not actually what court packing means. Court packing does not mean nominating a justice to fill a vacancy. [...] It is expanding the number of justices. [...] And, you know, Joe Biden in 1983 said court-packing was ‘a bone headed idea,’ and now that bone headed idea I think is their agenda number one if they win on Election Day.”
WATCH: Cruz on Fox Discusses Judge Barrett's Confirmation Hearing & Dems' Radical Plan to Pack the Court
Sen. Cruz also appeared on ‘The Hugh Hewitt Show,’ and discussed ‘Dark Money’ in politics. Concerning the statements made by Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI) during the hearing, Sen. Cruz said:
“Of course, the irony is, when it comes to money in politics and big business in politics, the Democrats overwhelmingly dominate the field in terms of billionaires trying to elect crazy radical Democrats, including Sheldon Whitehouse. So he happily takes advantage of the money, but what he wants to do simultaneously — what that fight is about is power. He wants government to have the power to regulate what you say and what I say, and it's all about protecting incumbents. And Democrats are the party of government. The more power the government has, the happier they are.”
Following the first day of Judge Barrett’s confirmation hearing, Sen. Cruz joined ‘Mornings with Maria’ on Fox Business. Discussing Judge Barrett’s exceptional qualifications and the political agenda of his Democrat colleagues, Sen. Cruz said:
“They were not able to find any line of attack that got any traction at all. Judge Barrett was calm, she was cool, she was collected, [and] she knew the Constitution. And she had a temperament that was both scholarly and judicial. But even more revealing, Maria, the Democrats weren't really trying. It kind of felt like the Senate Democrats on the committee were phoning it in that they recognize on the merits she is incredibly qualified. They don't have any substantive criticism. [...]
“Most of their so-called questioning period they would give speeches attacking Donald Trump, and they'd explain what they didn't like about President Trump. They attacked the President and Judge Barrett mostly just sat there and smiled. I think that's a very good sign that she's going to get confirmed.”
“Most of their so-called questioning period they would give speeches attacking Donald Trump, and they'd explain what they didn't like about President Trump. They attacked the President and Judge Barrett mostly just sat there and smiled. I think that's a very good sign that she's going to get confirmed.”
WATCH: Cruz on Fox Biz Recaps Second Day of Judiciary Hearing for Amy Coney Barrett's SCOTUS Confirmation
For Sen. Cruz’s full remarks during Judge Barrett’s testimony before the Judiciary Committee, watch his opening remarks from the confirmation hearing here as well as his first round and second round of questioning. Read about Sen. Cruz’s meeting with Judge Amy Coney Barrett here. Learn more about Sen. Cruz’s leadership in the efforts to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett here.
WATCH: Exposed: Democrats’ Radical Power Plot
